PTT-100 50 gram Solar Patagial Argos/GPS

Shortly after the release of the 45g Solar Argos/GPS PTT in 2003, we were approached by the Peregrine Fund with a special request: Could we modify the 45g Solar Argos/GPS PTT for patagial attachment to a Condor? The Peregrine Fund was interested in monitoring reintroduced California Condors and did not want to tag them with backpack PTTs. We had already modified our 35g Solar PTT for Condors so it did not take us long to make the necessary adjustments to the housing to allow for the GPS PTT's attachment to the Condor's wing. The resulting 50g Solar Argos/GPS PTT allows biologists to follow this vulnerable species and identify its location so accurately that they can find carcasses on which the birds have been feeding. Today virtually every reintroduced California Condor is tracked with a GPS PTT on one wing and a VHF transmitter on the other!

The 50g Solar Argos/GPS patagial PTT retains all the features of the 45g Solar Argos/GPS PTT: SiV™ technology, microprocessor control of battery charging to allow for data collection and transmission at night, and multi-season duty cycle programming.

Features

Internal sixteen channel micro power GPS receiver

GPS accuracy ± 18m

Solar powered

Microprocessor controlled battery charge management to allow the PTT to charge during the day and collect data and transmit at night

Temperature, Battery Voltage & Activity sensors

SiV™ transmission schedule optimized for the new JTA* schedule: the PTT transmits only at times when the likelihood of a satellite pass is greatest, and to contain Argos costs the PTT is programmed to transmit data during only 2 Argos billing quadrants on the transmission day

Programmable for up to 5 duty cycle seasons (defined by mm/dd calendar dates)

Programmed to take GPS fixes at user-specified hours, and to transmit at user specified intervals

GPS parsing software that outputs locations into easily manageable data files and kml maps that can be viewed in Google Earth™